Managing Assets

ABSTRACT

A method for managing assets including receiving a task across a network to be performed by a set of assets, identifying a subset of assets owned by an owner, transmitting a personalized direct communication across the network to the owner, wherein the personalized direct communication requests approval for use of the subset of assets to execute the task, and responsive to receiving an approval communication across the network from the owner indicating respective approved assets from the subset of assets producing a set of approved assets, automatically transmitting a set of communications across the network to the set of approved assets for execution of the task.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 15/990,629filed May 26, 2018 entitled “MANAGING ASSETS”, which is a continuationof application Ser. No. 13/681,122 filed Nov. 19, 2012 entitled“MANAGING ASSETS”, the disclosures of which are incorporated in itsentirety herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to managing assets, and inparticular, to a computer implemented method for managing assetsperforming tasks with owner approval.

2. Description of Related Art

Today companies and other enterprises manage a large number of on-lineassets. These assets can include software products, interconnectedservers, and multi-way communications. These assets are utilized toprovide services such as email, virtual machines, managementapplications, business applications, etc. These assets may beimplemented internally to an enterprise, or they may be implementedexternally such as in a cloud environment.

Managing these assets to maintain secure and uninterrupted services isbecoming more difficult as the complexity of these assets and theirinterconnections increases. This may be increasingly true as enterprisesare outsourcing their assets and services to other companies such asthrough cloud environments.

SUMMARY

The illustrative embodiments provide a method for managing assetsincluding receiving a task across a network to be performed by a set ofassets, identifying a subset of assets owned by an owner, transmitting apersonalized direct communication across the network to the owner,wherein the personalized direct communication requests approval for useof the subset of assets to execute the task, and responsive to receivingan approval communication across the network from the owner indicatingrespective approved assets from the subset of assets producing a set ofapproved assets, automatically transmitting a set of communicationsacross the network to the set of approved assets for execution of thetask.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are setforth in the appended claims. The invention itself, further objectivesand advantages thereof, as well as a preferred mode of use, will best beunderstood by reference to the following detailed description ofillustrative embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of thepresent invention in which various embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 2 depicts a cloud computing environment in which variousembodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 3 depicts abstraction model layers in which various embodiments maybe implemented;

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an asset management environment inwhich various embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of various elements of an assetmanagement task (AMT) in which various embodiments may be implemented;

FIG. 6 depicts a flow diagram of implementing an asset management task(AMT) in accordance with a first embodiment; and

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram of implementing an asset management task(AMT) in accordance with a second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Processes and devices may be implemented and utilized to utilize emailsto manage on-line assets. These processes and apparatuses may beimplemented and utilized as will be explained with reference to thevarious embodiments below.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

For convenience, the Detailed Description includes the followingdefinitions which have been derived from the “Draft NIST WorkingDefinition of Cloud Computing” by Peter Mell and Tim Grance, dated Oct.7, 2009, which is cited in an IDS filed herewith, and a copy of which isattached thereto.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in as needed. To the consumer, thecapabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited andcan be purchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode (also referred to herein as a virtual node or virtual machine) isshown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitable cloudcomputing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to thescope of use or functionality of embodiments of the invention describedherein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable of beingimplemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1, computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node 10is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 12 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28,and a bus 18 that couples various system components including systemmemory 28 to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via I/O interfaces22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 can communicate with one ormore networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide areanetwork (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via networkadapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20 communicates with the othercomponents of computer system/server 12 via bus 18. It should beunderstood that although not shown, other hardware and/or softwarecomponents could be used in conjunction with computer system/server 12.Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers,redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems,tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 3, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 2) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes, in oneexample IBM® zSeries® systems; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)architecture based servers, in one example IBM pSeries® systems; IBMxSeries® systems; IBM BladeCenter® systems; a type of cloud computingplatform referred to herein as an appliance; storage devices; networksand networking components. Examples of software components includenetwork application server software, in one example IBM Web Sphere®application server software; and database software, in one example IBMDB2® database software. (IBM, zSeries, pSeries, xSeries, BladeCenter,WebSphere, and DB2 are trademarks of International Business MachinesCorporation registered in many jurisdictions worldwide)

Virtualization layer 62 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers;virtual storage; virtual networks, including virtual private networks;virtual applications and operating systems; and virtual clients.

In one example, management layer 64 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning provides dynamic procurement of computingresources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks withinthe cloud computing environment including providing for secure andtrusted communications. Metering and Pricing provide cost tracking asresources are utilized within the cloud computing environment, andbilling or invoicing for consumption of these resources. In one example,these resources may comprise application software licenses. Securityprovides identity verification for cloud consumers and tasks, as well asprotection for data and other resources. User portal provides access tothe cloud computing environment for consumers and system administrators.Service level management provides cloud computing resource allocationand management such that required service levels are met. Service LevelAgreement (SLA) planning and fulfillment provides pre-arrangement for,and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a futurerequirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 66 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation; software development and lifecycle management; virtualclassroom education delivery; data analytics processing; transactionprocessing; and an office administration.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an asset management environment 100 inwhich various embodiments may be implemented. A network 110 is shown forhandling communications between the various components shown. Network110 may be a standard internal network such as may be implemented in anenterprise. Network 110 may also be the internet with some or all of thecomponents located in different enterprises. Network 110 may also be acloud implementation with each component being a virtual machine withinthat cloud. Network 110 may further be a combination of an internalnetwork, the internet, and a cloud implementation with variouscomponents in various locations. For example, two components may be inthe cloud with the rest of the components being located in differententerprises across the internet.

An administrative server 120 is shown which is utilized by anadministrator to manage IT (information technology) assets. These assetsmay be in one enterprise or across multiple enterprises. Theadministrator may communicate with the administrative server through alocal computer (not shown) or at a terminal directly connected to theadministrative server. An asset management server (AMS) 130 is shown.The asset management server is utilized to manage the IT assets underthe direction of the administrator. Asset management server 130 includesa mail tool 135 for communicating with other assets as described below,although other means of communicating with those assets may be utilizeddepending on the environment and any system management tools that are inplace with those assets. For example, in a multi-enterprise environmentwhere each enterprise may utilize different systems management systems,email may be the preferred means for communicating with the clientassets due to the strong existing infrastructure for passing emailsacross the internet and because many Unix systems like Linux have anative mail client embedded. However, in a single enterprise environmentor a multi-enterprise environment where a common systems managementsystem is utilized across all enterprises, the existing systemmanagement tools may be preferred, particularly if email clients are notembedded in the client assets. A mail tool is shown for machine tomachine communications herein as the more general solution across manytypes of environments.

Mail tool 135 may utilize SMTP/POP (simple mail transfer protocol/postoffice protocol) standards for these email communications. Alternativetypes of mail tools may be utilized including tools for texting orinstant messaging. Texting utilizing a short message service (SMS)infrastructure is generally used for communications in a mobile phoneenvironment and instant messaging is generally used for communicationsover the internet. Although not illustrated herein, the infrastructurefor texting and instant messaging is well known in the art and may beutilized by those of ordinary skill in the art for use with any of theembodiments shown herein. Collectively, emails, text messages, instantmessages and other similar communications are referred to herein aspersonalized direct communications. Collectively, the use of systemsmanagement tools and personalized direct communications are referred toherein as communications. An asset management control system 140 isshown. The asset management control system includes a database of thevarious client assets, their owners, and the email addresses of thoseowners and the client assets. The information in asset managementcontrol system is utilized by the AMS for managing the IT assets. Assetmanagement control system 140 may be a part of the AMS. AMS 130 managesasset management control system 140 by keeping it up to date as moreclient assets are added, removed, or otherwise changed.

Two client components 150 and 160 are shown. Many additional clientcomponents may be included. A component is a hardware or software entitythat includes an IT asset which may be updated, modified, etc. by anasset management task. Each component includes a client mail tool 154and 164 for communicating with the AMS as well as other securecommunications, although other means of communicating with the AMS maybe utilized depending on the environment and the system management toolsthat are in place with those assets. For example, as described above, ina multi-enterprise environment, email may be the preferred means forcommunicating with the AMS where in a single enterprise solution theexisting system management tools may be utilized. Each component alsoincludes a client software module 158 and 168 for implementing approvedtasks as will be described below.

An owner system 170 is also shown with a mail tool 175. Owner system isutilized for communicating with an owner of the various IT assets. Ifthere are multiple owners, each owner having ownership of various ITassets, then there may be multiple owner systems. The owner maycommunicate with the owner system directly as a local computer or at aterminal connected directly or indirectly to the owner system.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of various elements of an assetmanagement task (AMT) 200 in which various embodiments may beimplemented. Task 200 can include a software patch, a software update,an agent or other software to be implemented to implement additionalservices or capabilities, or other types of actions which anadministrator may desire to implement utilizing an AMT.

Task 200 includes three primary elements, a description section 210, arelevance section 220, and an action section 230. Additional oralternative elements may be utilized in alternative embodiments.Description section 210 includes a description of a task to beperformed. This description is utilized to inform the owner of therelevant software or hardware of the desired task for the purpose ofobtaining the owner's approval. Relevance section 220 identifiescriteria utilized to determine which software and/or hardware the taskapplies to. For example, the criteria may include a version of aspecific type of software to be updated with a security patch. Actionsection 230 includes the specific instructions used to implement thedesired task to the relevant assets. These instructions may be in avariety of forms including a high level or low level software language.

FIG. 6 depicts a flow diagram of implementing an asset management task(AMT) in accordance with a first embodiment. In a first step 300, anadministrator generates a new asset management task (referred to hereinas AMT or task) on an asset server for implementation. This AMT includesa description of the task, criteria used to determine which assets arerelevant, and the specific instructions necessary to implement the AMTfor the relevant assets. Subsequently in step 305, the AMT is passed tothe asset management server (AMS) for obtaining approval and thenimplementing the task. The AMT may be passed from the administrator tothe AMS by direct input to the administrative server such as through asystems management tool communication or indirectly such as across asecure internet connection or through an email or other form ofpersonalized direct communication to the administrative server. Thiscommunication may be automatic, meaning that the communication is sentwithout human intervention once the AMT is entered into the asset serverby the administrator. The AMS then automatically accesses an assetmanagement control system in step 310 to identify the assets and theirowner(s) including the email addresses or other contact information ofthe owner(s) and assets. This access may be directly such as byaccessing a local database or indirectly such as through a secureconnection across the internet.

Once the assets, their owners, and the email addresses of the owners andassets are identified, then in step 315 the AMS automatically generatesand sends an email or other personalized direct communication to eachasset owner including the description of the task and a checklist of theassets for that owner. The personalized direct communication may be anemail utilizing an existing SMTP/POP infrastructure or it may be a textmessage (short message service or multimedia messaging service), instantmessage or other similar communication method to directly contact theowner automatically. If email, this and subsequent steps take advantageof an already integrated email infrastructure that is flexible anddynamic for a variety of environments including cloud basedimplementations. These emails may be cached and then sent to the ownersperiodically at pre-designated time interval. The caching may also occurjust prior to generating the emails when the owner(s) have beenidentified, or even at the point where the task was first submitted bythe administrator.

In step 320, each owner can then access the email or other personalizeddirect communication sent to that owner and read the task descriptionwith the checklist of assets. Each owner can then determine which of theassets listed should be selected for implementation of the describedtask. Some assets may be in a testing phase where stability is desiredand no changes would be approved. Other assets may have been reverted toan earlier snapshot where the described task would not be appropriate.The owner may also determine that the task is unnecessary and may refuseauthorization of the task for any asset. The owner may further determinethat the task is needed for all the listed assets. Other factors notlisted here can affect a decision by the owner including costs, timing,etc. Each owner can then respond back to the AMS in step 325 through anapproval communication such as an email or other personalized directcommunication with a checklist selection of assets approved (or notapproved) for a determination of relevance and an implementation of thetask for relevant assets. Although a checklist is described in thisembodiment, alternative methods of indicating which assets are approvedmay be utilized. For example, a selection of the word “All”, “None”,within a description of the types of assets approved can be analyzedwith natural language processing. For another example which may be usedin an SMS implementation, a question and answer dialog could be utilizedsuch as “Do you approve the XYZ update process to be run on the ABCserver in the time period between 3 to 4 AM (Yes or No)?” where theowner may reply “Yes” or “No”. Alternative embodiments may utilize othersimilar techniques for indicating the approved assets.

In step 330, the asset management server (AMS) receives the responseemail or other personalized direct communication from the owner.Subsequently in step 335, the AMS automatically generates acommunication such as an email, other personalized direct communication,or a systems management tool communication, for each asset approved bythe owner for determination of relevance and subsequent implementationof the task without requiring human intervention. Although an email isdescribed as the form of machine to machine communication for thisembodiment, alternative methods for machine to machine communicationsincludes utilizing existing systems management tools that may be inplace depending on the environment. This email includes the address ofthe approved asset (e.g. the virtual machine including the software tobe updated), the criteria utilized for a determination of relevance, theaction to be taken if relevance is determined, and a unique tag. Theunique tag is compatible with the email standard format (e.g. MIME ormultipurpose internet mail extension) and is utilized by the AMS andclient module for tracking purposes. In step 340, each generated emailor other personalized direct communication is automatically sent to eachapproved asset for that determination of relevance and implementation ofthe task.

Subsequently in step 345, the approved asset receives the AMS generatedemail, other personalized direct communication, or systems managementtool communication. In step 350, the client component automaticallydetermines whether the task is relevant to any IT component included inthat asset. If not, then in step 355 an email, other personalized directcommunication, or systems management tool communication with the uniquetag is automatically sent back to the AMS specifying that no action wastaken due to a lack of relevance, then processing continues to step 370.If yes in step 350, then in step 360 the client software moduleautomatically implements the task. An email, other personalized directcommunication, or systems management tool communication with the uniquetag is then automatically generated and sent to the AMS in step 365specifying whether the task was successfully implemented or not, andprocessing continues to step 370. In step 370, the AMS receives theemails, other personalized direct communications, and/or other systemsmanagement tool communications from steps 355 and 365 and automaticallyprovides that information to the administrator. Many of the steps abovemay be performed automatically without human intervention, therebystreamlining the process for increased efficiency, although manualoperation of certain steps may be implemented according to the systemconfiguration and user preferences.

FIG. 7 depicts a flow diagram of implementing an asset management task(AMT) in accordance with a second embodiment. This embodiment limits thelist of assets sent to the owner to those assets that are relevant tothe task. In a first step 400, an administrator generates a new assetmanagement task (referred to herein as AMT or task) on an asset serverfor implementation. This AMT includes a description of the task,criteria used to determine which assets are relevant, and the specificinstructions necessary to implement the AMT for the relevant assets.Subsequently in step 405, the AMT is passed to the asset managementserver (AMS) for obtaining approval and then implementing the task. TheAMT may be passed from the administrator to the AMS by direct input tothe administrative server such as through a systems management toolcommunication or indirectly such as across a secure internet connectionor through an email or other form of personalized direct communicationto the administrative server. This communication may be automatic,meaning that the communication is sent without human intervention oncethe AMT is entered into the asset server by the administrator. The AMSthen automatically accesses an asset management control system in step410 to identify the assets and their owner(s) including the emailaddresses or other contact information of the assets and owner(s). Thisaccess may be directly such as by accessing a local database orindirectly such as through a secure connection across the internet.

Once the assets, their owners, and the email addresses of the assets andowners are identified, then in steps 415 through 430, the AMSautomatically performs a set of filtration steps to determine which ifthe identified assets are relevant to the task. These filtration stepsmay be performed for every owner, or they may be performed only when theowner approves or requests such filtration. In step 415 the AMSautomatically generates an inquiry email, other personalized directcommunication, or systems management tool communication to each asset todetermine whether the task may apply to that asset. Although an email isdescribed as the form of machine to machine communication in thisembodiment, alternative methods for machine to machine communicationsincludes utilizing existing systems management tools that may be inplace depending on the environment. This inquiry email includes theaddress of the approved asset (e.g. the virtual machine including thesoftware to be updated), the criteria utilized for a determination ofrelevance, the action to be taken once relevance is determined (i.e. anemail back to the AMS stating whether the task is relevant to thatasset), and a unique tag. The unique tag is compatible with the emailstandard format (e.g. MIME or multipurpose internet mail extension) andis utilized by the AMS and client module for tracking purposes. Eachgenerated inquiry email, other personalized direct communication, orsystems management tool communication is automatically sent to eachapproved asset for that determination of relevance and implementation ofthe task (i.e. to respond to the question of relevance).

In step 420, each asset receiving the inquiry email, other personalizeddirect communication, or systems management tool communication thenautomatically determines relevance (e.g. that the asset includes acertain generation of software), then automatically performs a task ofresponding to the AMS in step 425. That response includes an indicationwhether the task is relevant to the asset or not. The response may be inthe form received such as an email, other personalized directcommunication, or systems management tool communication. A non-responsemay be determined to be a lack of relevance by the non-responding asset.In step 430, the AMS receives the responses from each asset and thenautomatically filters the list of assets for each owner, therebyreducing the number of assets that the owner has to review.

Then in step 435 the AMS automatically generates and sends an email orother personalized direct communication to each asset owner includingthe description of the task and a checklist of the relevant assets forthat owner. The personalized direct communication may be an emailutilizing an existing SMTP/POP infrastructure or it may be a textmessage (short message service or multimedia messaging service), instantmessage or other similar communication method to directly contact theowner automatically. If email, this and other steps described hereintake advantage of an already integrated email infrastructure that isflexible and dynamic for a variety of environments including cloud basedimplementations. These emails may be cached and then sent to the ownersperiodically at pre-designated time interval. The caching may also occurjust prior to generating the emails when the owner(s) have beenidentified, or even at the point where the task was first submitted bythe administrator.

In step 440, each owner can then access the email or other personalizeddirect communication sent to that owner and read the task descriptionwith the checklist of assets. Each owner can then determine which of theassets listed should be selected for implementation of the describedtask. Some assets may be in a testing phase where stability is desiredand no changes would be approved. Other assets may have been reverted toan earlier snapshot where the described task would not be appropriate.The owner may also determine that the task is unnecessary and may refuseauthorization of the task for any asset. The owner may further determinethat the task is needed for all the listed assets. Other factors notlisted here can affect a decision by the owner including costs, timing,etc. Each owner can then respond back to the AMS in step 445 through anapproval communication such as an email or other personalized directcommunication with a checklist selection of assets approved (or notapproved) for a determination of relevance and an implementation of thetask for relevant assets. Although a checklist is described in thisembodiment, alternative methods of indicating which assets are approvedmay be utilized. For example, a selection of the word “All”, “None”,within a description of the types of assets approved which can beanalyzed with natural language processing. For another example which maybe used in an SMS implementation, a question and answer dialog could beutilized such as “Do you approve the XYZ update process to be run on theABC server in the time period between 3 to 4 AM (Yes or No)?” where theowner may reply “Yes” or “No”. Alternative embodiments may utilize othersimilar techniques for indicating the approved assets.

In step 450, the asset management server (AMS) receives the responseemail or other personalized direct communication from the owner.Subsequently in step 455, the AMS automatically generates an email,other personalized direct communication, or systems management toolcommunication for each asset approved by the owner for a confirmation ofrelevance (in case there have been changes related to relevance sincethe asset was queried as described above) and subsequent implementationof the task without requiring human intervention. This email includesthe address of the approved asset (e.g. the virtual machine includingthe software to be updated), the criteria utilized for a determinationof relevance, the action to be taken if relevance is determined, and aunique tag. The unique tag is compatible with the email standard format(e.g. MIME or multipurpose internet mail extension) and is utilized bythe AMS and client module for tracking purposes. In step 460, eachgenerated email, other personalized direct communication, or systemsmanagement tool communication is sent to each approved asset for thatconfirmation of relevance and implementation of the task.

Subsequently in step 465, the approved asset receives the AMS generatedemail, other personalized direct communication or systems managementtool communication. In step 470, the client component automaticallydetermines whether the task is relevant to any IT component included inthat asset. If not, then in step 475 an email, other personalized directcommunication, or systems management tool communication with the uniquetag is automatically sent back to the AMS specifying that no action wastaken due to a lack of relevance and processing continues to step 490.If yes in step 470, then in step 480 the client software moduleautomatically implements the task. An email, other personalized directcommunication or systems management tool communication with the uniquetag is then automatically generated and sent to the AMS in step 485specifying whether the task was successfully implemented or not, thenprocessing continues to step 490. In step 490, the AMS receives theemails, other personalized direct communications, or systems managementtool communication from steps 475 and 485 and automatically providesthat information to the administrator. Many of the steps above may beperformed automatically without human intervention, thereby streamliningthe process for increased efficiency, although manual operation ofcertain steps may be implemented according to the system configurationand user preferences.

The invention can take the form of an entirely software embodiment, oran embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In apreferred embodiment, the invention is implemented in software orprogram code, which includes but is not limited to firmware, residentsoftware, and microcode.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), or Flash memory, an opticalfiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an opticalstorage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combinationof the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readablestorage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store aprogram for use by or in connection with an instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing. Further, a computer storage medium may contain or store acomputer-readable program code such that when the computer-readableprogram code is executed on a computer, the execution of thiscomputer-readable program code causes the computer to transmit anothercomputer-readable program code over a communications link. Thiscommunications link may use a medium that is, for example withoutlimitation, physical or wireless.

A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing programcode will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectlyto memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can includelocal memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulkstorage media, and cache memories, which provide temporary storage of atleast some program code in order to reduce the number of times code mustbe retrieved from bulk storage media during execution.

A data processing system may act as a server data processing system or aclient data processing system. Server and client data processing systemsmay include data storage media that are computer usable, such as beingcomputer readable. A data storage medium associated with a server dataprocessing system may contain computer usable code such as for utilizingemails to manage on-line assets. A client data processing system maydownload that computer usable code, such as for storing on a datastorage medium associated with the client data processing system, or forusing in the client data processing system. The server data processingsystem may similarly upload computer usable code from the client dataprocessing system such as a content source. The computer usable coderesulting from a computer usable program product embodiment of theillustrative embodiments may be uploaded or downloaded using server andclient data processing systems in this manner.

Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboards,displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the system eitherdirectly or through intervening I/O controllers.

Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the dataprocessing system to become coupled to other data processing systems orremote printers or storage devices through intervening private or publicnetworks. Modems, cable modem and Ethernet cards are just a few of thecurrently available types of network adapters.

The description of the present invention has been presented for purposesof illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to explain the principlesof the invention, the practical application, and to enable others ofordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for variousembodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particularuse contemplated.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As usedherein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1-29. (canceled) 30-39. (canceled)
 40. A computer program product foruse in managing information technology assets owned by an owner, thecomputer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readablestorage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, theprogram instructions executable by a processing circuit to cause thedevice to perform a method comprising: receiving an asset managementtask from an administrator across a network, the asset management taskincluding a description of the asset management task to be performed forreview by a user on an owner system, criteria for identifying whichinformation technology assets are to perform the asset management task,and specific instructions to be executed by a set of informationtechnology assets owned by the owner to perform the asset managementtask; automatically without human intervention identifying a subset ofthe information technology assets owned by the owner that meet thecriteria set forth in the asset management task; automatically withouthuman intervention transmitting a personalized direct communicationacross the network to the owner system including the receiveddescription of the asset management task to be performed for approval bythe user of the owner system; and responsive to receiving an approvalcommunication across the network from the owner system producing a setof approved information technology assets from the subset of informationtechnology assets, automatically transmitting a set of communicationsacross the network to the set of approved information technology assetsfor execution of the specific instructions by each approved informationtechnology asset identified as meeting the criteria; wherein the set ofcommunications, transmitted across the network to the set of approvedinformation technology assets in response to receiving an approvalcommunication from the owner, includes the criteria from theadministrator and a request for each of the set of informationtechnology assets to verify whether that approved information technologyasset is to perform the asset management task.
 41. The computer programproduct of claim 40 further comprising receiving a communication fromeach of the set of approved information technology assets indicatingwhether the task was performed.
 42. The computer program product ofclaim 41 wherein each of the set of communications transmitted to theset of approved information technology assets includes a tag identifyingthe asset management task and wherein the communication from each of theset of approved information technology assets includes a reference tothe tag.
 43. The computer program product of claim 41 wherein the set ofcommunications transmitted to the set of approved information technologyassets includes email.
 44. The computer program product of claim 40wherein the personalized direct communication to the owner system of theowner is an email.
 45. The computer program product of claim 40 furthercomprising transmitting, prior to transmitting a personalized directcommunication to the owner system of the owner, a set of communicationsto the information technology assets owned by the owner to identify thesubset of information technology assets which meet the criteria setforth in the asset management task.
 46. The computer program product ofclaim 45 wherein transmitting a set of communications to the informationtechnology assets owned by the owner, to identify which of theinformation technology assets owned by the owner meet the criteria setforth in the asset management task, is performed subsequent to receivingthe asset management task from the administrator.
 47. The computerprogram product of claim 46 further comprising receiving responses, fromthe set of communications to the information technology assets owned bythe owner, identifying the subset of information technology assets. 48.The computer program product of claim 40 wherein the personalized directcommunication to the owner system of each of the set of owners onlyincludes the subset of the information technology assets owned by theowner that meet the criteria set forth in the asset management task. 49.The computer program product of claim 47 wherein the personalized directcommunication to the owner system of each of the set of owners onlyincludes the subset of the information technology assets owned by theowner that meet the criteria set forth in the asset management task asidentified in the responses from the set of communications to theinformation technology assets owned by the owner.
 50. A data processingsystem for use in managing information technology assets owned by anowner, the data processing system comprising: a processor; and a memorystoring program instructions which when executed by the processorperform the method of: receiving an asset management task from anadministrator across a network, the asset management task including adescription of the asset management task to be performed for review by auser on an owner system, criteria for identifying which informationtechnology assets are to perform the asset management task, and specificinstructions to be executed by a set of information technology assetsowned by the owner to perform the asset management task; automaticallywithout human intervention identifying a subset of the informationtechnology assets owned by the owner that meet the criteria set forth inthe asset management task; automatically without human interventiontransmitting a personalized direct communication across the network tothe owner system including the received description of the assetmanagement task to be performed for approval by the user of the ownersystem; and responsive to receiving an approval communication across thenetwork from the owner system producing a set of approved informationtechnology assets from the subset of information technology assets,automatically transmitting a set of communications across the network tothe set of approved information technology assets for execution of thespecific instructions by each approved information technology assetidentified as meeting the criteria; wherein the set of communications,transmitted across the network to the set of approved informationtechnology assets in response to receiving an approval communicationfrom the owner, includes the criteria from the administrator and arequest for each of the set of information technology assets to verifywhether that approved information technology asset is to perform theasset management task.
 51. The data processing system of claim 50further comprising receiving a communication from each of the set ofapproved information technology assets indicating whether the task wasperformed.
 52. The data processing system of claim 51 wherein each ofthe set of communications transmitted to the set of approved informationtechnology assets includes a tag identifying the asset management taskand wherein the communication from each of the set of approvedinformation technology assets includes a reference to the tag.
 53. Thedata processing system of claim 51 wherein the set of communicationstransmitted to the set of approved information technology assetsincludes email.
 54. The data processing system of claim 50 wherein thepersonalized direct communication to the owner system of the owner is anemail.
 55. The data processing system of claim 50 further comprisingtransmitting, prior to transmitting a personalized direct communicationto the owner system of the owner, a set of communications to theinformation technology assets owned by the owner to identify the subsetof information technology assets which meet the criteria set forth inthe asset management task.
 56. The data processing system of claim 55wherein transmitting a set of communications to the informationtechnology assets owned by the owner, to identify which of theinformation technology assets owned by the owner meet the criteria setforth in the asset management task, is performed subsequent to receivingthe asset management task from the administrator.
 57. The dataprocessing system of claim 56 further comprising receiving responses,from the set of communications to the information technology assetsowned by the owner, identifying the subset of information technologyassets.
 58. The data processing system of claim 50 wherein thepersonalized direct communication to the owner system of each of the setof owners only includes the subset of the information technology assetsowned by the owner that meet the criteria set forth in the assetmanagement task.
 59. The data processing system of claim 57 wherein thepersonalized direct communication to the owner system of each of the setof owners only includes the subset of the information technology assetsowned by the owner that meet the criteria set forth in the assetmanagement task as identified in the responses from the set ofcommunications to the information technology assets owned by the owner.